Interior Designer Crush!
This post is the start of a brand new series where I get to introduce you to some of my favorite interior designers. As design professionals, we all learn so much by bouncing ideas off one another, and I wanted to start letting you in on some of these fun conversations too.
I’m calling this series “Interior Designer Crush” because I just love what these other pros are doing. Hopefully you’ll be inspired by their tips to start incorporating great design into your own spaces!
Meet Megan
Megan lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two tabby cats. They recently bought a 1910 row house, and have been renovating the garden level and first floor where they live. Megan says she’s always loved using her own home as a testing ground for new ideas, solutions, and projects…even if there’s a security deposit at stake!
I really like the way Megan isn’t afraid to experiment with color and texture, and you’ll see how that risk-taking pays off in the beautiful spaces she’s created.
Megan’s the ultimate DIYer, and I love how creative she is. The things she makes are so high end that you wouldn’t even know they were DIY in the first place! I also got to talk to Megan about her design inspirations, how she approaches design work at Megan Pflug Designs, and what she’s loving right now.
Design Inspiration
Heather: Tell me a bit about your inspiration – where do your design ideas come from?
Megan: I like looking back to the classics for inspiration, while also keeping things fresh. Everything has been done before, but combining old and new breaks the exhaustion cycle of only looking to Pinterest or Instagram for ideas.
I think the word eclectic is overused, but it applies to me. I like playing with light and dark colors, and I’ve always been interested in contrast. I love history and traditional design, but I’m also really interested in giving rooms a modern voice.
Focal Points: From Ugly Duckling to Swan
Heather: What’s the first thing that catches your eye when you enter a room? What do you focus on when you work on pulling together a scheme?
Megan: If there’s something that’s unusual about a room or something that’s kind of wrong with it, I’ll often try to make that into a cool feature.
For example, my dining room floors were gross before! Instead of replacing them, I tried just painting them. Now the ugliest part of the room is made into the prettiest part – it still stands out, but in a positive way now.
A Fresh Approach to DIY in Your Home
H: Do you have a favorite DIY design tip that our readers could implement?
M: To me, DIY just means custom. Not everyone can or should do everything themselves, but I really love those moments where you can look back and say, for example, “Today I upholstered my own wall!”
My advice is not to take anything too seriously. After all, it’s just a can of paint or piece of fabric; it’s not rocket science. Just give it a try! There’s usually not as much at stake as you think, and it’s never a matter of life and death. I would encourage people to just try something out, and see how custom they can make it.
Your Dream Project
H: What would be your dream project to work on?
M: Well, like a lot of New Yorkers I have a love/hate relationship with the city. I’ve always wanted to move upstate. My dream project would be to do a hotel there, or maybe a spa – something involving converting an old house.
The Benefit of Working with an Interior Designer
H: For clients who are working with an interior designer, what would you say is the biggest benefit?
M: It definitely has a lot to do with project management. It’s easy to collect pictures of things you love, but it’s another thing entirely to figure out how to execute that in your space. There are so many moving parts when designing, but you don’t think about that when looking at the pretty pictures!
Things can get really overwhelming, so having someone to help guide the process and keep you on track is extremely valuable. I even want someone else to do this for me sometimes!
H: I totally agree with you! As designers we’re exposed to so many ideas that I find it hard to make decisions for myself sometimes. But for a client’s project I can knock it out in a couple of hours!
Current Interior Obsession
H: What are you currently obsessed with? Do you have a favorite color or technique at the moment?
M: Honestly, right now I’m currently obsessed with sinks! I’m working on a couple of bathroom renovations and doing two custom sinks, so I’m definitely thinking about them a lot right now.
Renovating Your Own Home
H: Tell me more about renovating your own house. What’s your favorite room there, and why?
M: Probably my entryway. It’s a space that I pass through every day and it totally sets the tone for the whole house. I made all of the lighting in the space myself, and that was super fun!
I also really like the black and white paint treatment. It’s a good example of traditional meets modern that I mentioned earlier. The paint colors are very traditional, but I extended the chair rail across the door to give the space a fun modern edge.
I created some painted floor cloths to cover the unfortunate Band-Aid colored floor tiles in the space. Down the road I will replace them, but for now the floor cloths have proven to be a durable and totally unique solution.
Becoming an Interior Designer
H: That is really unique. Thanks for sharing all your ideas with us, Megan! I’m sure our readers appreciate your insight.
Before we go, can you tell us what inspired you to become a designer?
M: I always knew I wanted to make things. My mother and grandmother were always creators; I grew up sewing and making things, so I always had that love of creativity.
I studied painting in art school, but as a discipline painting wasn’t big enough to hold all the things I was going to make. I realized I was just as interested in the place where the painting would hang as the painting itself!
I’m really interested in the space where art meets real life. To me, interior design feels vital, and attainable…and most importantly super inspired and fun!
You can find more about Megan at her website, and follow her on Instagram @mepflug. I’m so glad you got to meet her today, and I can’t wait to introduce you to some other amazing folks in the industry. Stay tuned!
